GEBHARDT FILES FOR RE-ELECTION

Howard County Associate Judge Mason Gebhardt has announced that he is filing as a candidate in the 2018 August primary and November general election for another term on the Republican ticket.
Gebhardt, with the exception of college, has been a life-long resident of Howard County. Born at Keller Hospital, he attended grade school at St. Mary’s elementary in Glasgow and high school at Fayette. He received his Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia and his Law Degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He previously served as Howard County Prosecuting Attorney from 1999-2010 and Fayette City Prosecutor from 1998-2010.
Gebhardt stated, “It has been my honor to serve as your county judge for the last seven years and I hope the citizens of Howard will give me the opportunity to serve an additional four years in this office. I go into work each day well aware that I am an employee of the people of Howard County and that my job is to provide honest, efficient and economical government to our citizens.”
“We have had many changes occur over the last four years to our local legal system. As most citizens are aware, in addition to my duties as a state court judge, I have also recently assumed the duties as municipal judge for Glasgow and Fayette, as well as already serving for New Franklin. I have been working on getting and keeping the municipal courts in compliance with the new post Ferguson laws passed by the State Legislature. We have also gotten all municipal courts online with casenet and made a part of the Fine Collection Center. In 2017 I also served on a state committee which reviewed the Fine Collection Center procedures to see if any changes need be made.”
“Electronic filing has become a reality for our court system since my last election. We also continue to have special probation law days in which persons who are on court supervised probation (and thus not supervised by a probation officer) are summoned to court to be drug tested, have their criminal history reviewed to make sure they have not broken the law while on probation, and are required to have proof of employment. The end result is that people who are given the benefit of probation are being held more accountable than previously and are having their conduct subject to the ongoing scrutiny of the Court.”
“I have also worked closely with Presiding Judge Scott Hayes to ensure that the new Associate Judge for Randolph County, James Cooksey, has a smooth transition into office after Judge Cynthia Suter’s retirement in November.”
“Our judicial circuit, the 14th, comprises of Howard and Randolph counties. Because Randolph has a much larger volume of cases than Howard, and because of the new judge transition, I unfortunately have to spend a considerable amount of time each month holding court in Huntsville and am not here in Howard as much as I would like. Obviously as a judge I’m also not allowed to discuss cases or give legal advice to members of the public.”
“I promise to continue to work every day to ensure Howard County is a good and safe place to live and raise a family. I promise to continue to ensure that the citizens who appear in front of me are given a full and fair hearing and are treated with respect and courtesy. I love this county and I love my job. I have no ambition in life other than to continue to serve as Associate Judge for as long as the people of Howard County want me.”
Gebhardt resides in Fayette with his wife Lisa and daughter Olivia. He has a step-daughter, Kassidy Monnig, who is in her sophomore year at Mizzou, and another step-daughter, Kaleigh Canote, who lives in Harrisburg with her husband Zach.